Ending Your Reception On The Right Note

After planning the date, finding the venue and arranging all of the other details needed for a great wedding, you may have thought about the last song you would like to have played at your reception. In my experience it can really put an exclamation point on the end of a terrific night. However, deciding the last song of the night before your wedding day has even arrived can be like calling the last play of a football game before it is has even started. You don’t know what is going to be happening at the end and who will be there. It might be good to have a couple of options.

If there are a lot of couples left at the end of the night and everyone is pretty tired out from the long day of partying, ending the night on a slow song can be fitting. It is usually wise to pick something that all generations will know such as Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight”. Or consider repeating your first dance song. This can be a way to close the night with a repeating theme.

Playing a group favorite that’s easy to sing along to can be a fun way of ending the night. Once again bridging the generation gap can be essential if you want to have people from all age groups dancing ’til the end. Some songs we’ve seen work well are “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond, and “Piano Man” by Billy Joel.

Sometimes a song that bridges the fast/slow tempo gap with different sections can be a good choice. Consider “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing or “Last Dance” by Donna Summer.

If you have a younger crowd that is just tearing it up at the end of the night, there is no sense in putting ice in the boiling water. It is best to just let it flow and end on a high note. It could be a popular club song that everybody knows such as “Raise Your Glass” by Pink, “Party Rock Antehm” by LMFAO or “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz.

If you cannot think of anything to have played at the end, the disc jockey usually has something good in his/her back pocket to finish the night. That is what they get paid for. Experienced disc jockeys have played hundreds of weddings and know how to finish it right due to their years in the business. Many times there is a great song that a guest had requested that just did not fit in earlier and yet makes the perfect last song.

So you may want to consider picking a couple options for a last song. If you don’t pick a final song the disc jockey will have you covered. You never know, the perfect song could pop into your head at the end of the night and you can request it then. The mood at the end of the night should dictate what the last song is going to be.